#Frank somerville health how to#

Somerville’s integrity and willingness to ask incisive questions that challenge those inside and outside his bubble,” Holland wrote in a statement.Ī spokesperson for Fox Television Stations did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Concerns about his health arose as a result of the situation.

#Frank somerville health how to#

Frank Somerville was born on March 19, 1958, in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. Frank Somerville, who has anchored the news at Fox affiliate KTVU for nearly 30 years, is facing the repercussions after a reported disagreement with the station’s news director regarding how to cover Petito, a 22-year-old white woman whose body was found in Wyoming after a massive search involving multiple police departments and the FBI. Frank Somerville- Birth, Parents, Siblings & Education. Some of Somerville’s supporters praised him for trying to interrogate his own station’s reporting, though others expressed dismay over the news anchor’s purported defiance of his bosses.ĭays after the drama exploded on social media, George Holland, president of the Oakland branch of the NAACP, sharply criticized KTVU management, saying they should elevate Somerville’s commentary rather than edit it. Frank Somerville has been on leave since the 3rd of June due to a slur in his speech. Yet his thoughts on the Gabby Petito coverage tapped into a much larger debate that had reached a fever pitch online. Somerville had posted about the Texas law that bans almost all abortions and about the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. subsidiary that owns KTVU, said the anchor was going out on medical leave for two months after he slurred his words during a broadcast.Īccording to two station sources, he had already been disciplined shortly before the conflict over the tag, for voicing what the station deemed to be inappropriate political opinions on Facebook. In June a spokesperson for Fox Television Stations, the Fox Corp.

His suspension in September marked the second time this year that Somerville left the air. Like the Gabby Petito case, his story went viral after news of his suspension surfaced - even inspiring protests outside the station. While Somerville said he has not spoken with supervisors at the station, he predicts “they’re not bringing me back.” Somerville joined the station in 1991 and has become a recognizable Bay Area personality.

The late journalist Gwen Ifill coined the phrase “missing white woman syndrome” to characterize the phenomenon. Sources at the station said that a shortened version of Somerville’s proposed verbal “tag” appeared in a subsequent newscast script after a supervisor the station’s news director had nixed it.īoth Petito and Laundrie are white, and Somerville intended to highlight disparate reporting on missing persons cases, with the disappearance of people of color attracting less attention than cases involving white people, particularly white women. Somerville, 63, said he has been on paid leave ever since he was disciplined in late September, after seeking to add a 46-second address about racial justice to the end of a broadcast story about Petito, a woman slain during a cross-country trip with her fiance, Brian Laundrie.